Dogville starring Nicole Kidman,
Harriet Andersson, Lauren Bacall,
Jean-Marc Barr, Paul Bettany
What Hollywod Has Lost.
Personal Review: Dogville starring Nicole Kidman, Harriet
Andersson, Lauren Bacall, Jean-Marc Barr, Paul Bettany
This is about as far away as one can get from a 'feel good' flick, yet it is
undeniably powerful and delivers a most difficult subject to ponder that
really is one of the central themes to the human experience: the delicate
balance between good and evil and how one navigates in the waters of
extreme polarity. Director Lars von Trier has created a uniquely affecting
tale that is played out on a single soundstage with o nly the most basic of
non-human elements so that the focus can be exclusively on the
relationships of the people in 'Dogville'. And it is this intense development
of the dynamics of the character's interactions that makes this film the
powerful statement it is.
What we see in the gradually developing story of Dogville is how noble
traits such as good intentions, giving, forgiveness and long suffering -
when taken to the extreme - can actually empower evil and destroy
oneself. It seems to me the message in this film is that self love is equally
important as love for others. And so, we are taught an important lesson of
Balance here. This issue comes to a dramatic pinnacle with Grace's
conversation with her gangster-boss father (James Caan) near the end of
the film in the back of his limo. They both represent arrogance in polarized
opposite ways: hers of the lightside; his of the dark.
In the end, Grace chooses to 'balance the scales' in order to find her own
peace and resolution for the horrors inflicted upon her. We witness karmic
debt being cancelled as Dogville goes up in flames. In my sens e of
fairness, it couldn't have ended any other way, and be truthful. I say this
not to condone the actions she ultimately chooses here: the movie is what
it is. It's a lesson in just how out of balance one can become in trying to
'love' others that we actually become that which we hate: In Grace's case,
her altruism taken to the extreme ultimately transforms her into violent
retribution. We are left to speculate that she could have created a much
different and more humane outcome simply by not allowing her self to
become the doormat for all those who did indeed exploit her. That would
have not been possible unless she played the role she played. Had she
embraced more self respect and defined her boundaries, the nasty
outcome would most probably have been aborted entirely. What we see
played out here is the natural result of embracing extremes of polarity. The
truth (and sanity) lies in a healthy balance between the two.
This is a most unique and thought-provocative film about what it means to
be human and live in the cosmic soup of good and evil that we find
ourselves in. I believe that most people desire to be good and kind to their
neighbor. However, there are healthy limits to how much abuse one can
take and if we do not also be kind to ourselves, we are out of balance and
we end up with a mini (or major)-Dogville on our hands. This is an issue
that is central to everyone's life to some degree and one we must all come
to resolution with eventually. In contemplating this further, was it not her
own fear that inspired her playing the role of doormat? She wanted to 'be
saved'. THAT was her foundational error.
Nicole Kidman's acting in this film is probably the best of her career. She is
convincing as the archetypical altruistic martyr as she continually choos es
to overlook the bad behaviour of those around her, making allowances for
their 'weaknesses' and deliberately forgives those who exploit her.
Excellent also is Paul Bettany as Tom, who is also an archetype of an all
too common character: seemingly kind and good-hearted at first, but when
push comes to shove is revealed to be a weak, spineless, self -serving
wimp with no real integrity. With Tom, goodness is really all just
'appearance'. There are many archetypes of dysfunctional humans in this
film... it is indeed a cross section of humanity. (May God have mercy on us
all). Director Trier developes all characters with equal skill as he weaves
the tale in layer upon layer of psychological intrigue.
This film is not easy to watch, for it's really a study of the dark side of
humanity. But I think it is a necessary one. It is also a rather long film, and
it did take me a little while for it to grab and sustain my attention, due to the
unorthodox 'theatrical' setting which took some getting used to just
because it so 'different'. But due to the many excellent reviews here I
persevered and I'm glad I did for once I allowed myself to become part of
the Dogville world, I was quite affected. Dogville reveals itself to be a
powerful metaphor for the entire world and all of humanity. Yes, we indeed
live in a realm of the predator and the prey, and it seems the thing that
matters most is not the ultimate outcome but how we choose to navigate
our way through the treacherous waters: how fairly we treat ourselves, as
equally as how fairly we treat others.
Substance worth pondering indeed.
For More 5 Star Customer Reviews and Lowest Price:
Dogville starring Nicole Kidman, Harriet Andersson, Lauren Bacall, Jean-Marc Barr,
Paul Bettany 5 Star Customer Reviews and Lowest Price!